Dancer in the waves, p.7
Dancer In The Waves, page 7
“Tell me your name! How many men do you have on your list? Are they betas?” He blocked the way to the exit again and tried to grab her arm. Alice quickly backed away from him, and suddenly a freight train pushed the alpha all the way to a wall. Except it was not a train. It was Lemos.
“The lady said no,” Lemos told the alpha as he pushed him against the wall. “Mrs. Lopes, please join your friends, I’ll be there in a second.”
Alice left the theater in a hurry, and joined her distressed friends outside.
In the following months, Lemos’s presence became almost second nature to Alice. He was a good man who respected her and Bruno, and who liked his job. Alice learned to trust him and his decisions towards her safety. He was always discreet, drove her wherever she wanted to go, and was always respectful of her personal space. It made her feel safe enough to return to dance classes with Naomi, and to go to the pool. He made her life easier, and she started to open up again.
In the first months after being converted, it became obvious to Alice that everything her friends had said about an increased libido was true. Bruno’s lust had increased tenfold when he was converted, and now she had the stamina to keep up with him. But although her sex drive had increased a lot, she still didn’t experience that urge that all betas and alphas apparently did. When she asked her omega friends, they assured her it was normal, and that her sex drive would even out eventually.
When summer started, however, the weather got too warm for Alice’s comfort. She complained about the heat more than her husband did, and alphas were always hot. As in, literally hot to the touch.
The first thing she thought was that she had a fever. She took her temperature and it was unusually high. Her skin, always cold to the touch, felt like it was on fire. Not wanting to concern Daniel and her husband, she turned to the chat room she had with the other omegas.
After a few minutes, a few laughing emojis showed up. She just replied with a series of question marks.
Zoey: It’s normal, don’t worry. Your husband is really going to enjoy that, however.
Alice: What on earth do you mean? I never felt so hot in my life.
Zoey: It happens from time to time. That need that alphas have? It’s how it evens out—your body gets hotter and your libido goes through the roof.
Kasumi: Get some protection on your mattress. It’s gonna get wet.
Alice: How long does this last?
Zoey: Depends… One time I spent a whole week grinding my husband down. Poor man couldn’t walk straight for days.
Alice: A WHOLE WEEK?
Kasumi: Don’t worry, it usually lasts a day or two. Then you return to normal.
Alice: A day or two doesn’t sound as bad. So, I’m going to jump into my husband’s arms and shag him silly, is that it?
Kasumi: It’s not his arms you’re gonna jump!
Zoey: lol!
Well, that was unexpected. She already felt lewd with how much sex she and Bruno were having since she was changed. How was she going to tell Bruno it was going to get worse?
When Alice got the courage to explain what her friends had said, he was very happy. Turned out that men will be men, and the threat of “not being able to walk straight” just made her husband grin like an idiot.
Bruno even volunteered to take time off work so he could “dedicate himself” to taking care of her. She fumed. It was incredible how she could love someone so much, and not like them at the same time. Alice was feeling shy enough as it was, and didn’t want to parade around how much sex they were having.
When the full force of her lust hit her, her cheeky jerk of a husband had the gall to actually call in sick and missing work, just so he could spend a whole day with her in bed.
Alice had never felt so lustful before. She was caught up in a haze of pleasure and love, and Bruno was really enjoying himself. At least, until Daniel knocked on their door the next day, concerned over why an alpha would be sick.
Bruno’s first reaction was to laugh. Then he invited Daniel in and offered to get him a drink.
Alice sat awkwardly with him in the living room, a scarf covering the bite marks Bruno had left on her neck and shoulders.
“You look kind of flustered. Are you feeling okay, Alice?” Ever the doctor, Daniel put his hand on her forehead and neck. “You’re burning!”
She shuffled away from him, cheeks reddening with embarrassment.
“No, it’s nothing to worry about. I’m just… it’s an omega thing.”
Daniel looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“You see, it’s… The other omegas explained it’s normal, and it happens from time to time.”
“What happens?”
“We get a little hotter, and we want to…” She tried to find less embarrassing words. “We get more… It’s just a little—”
“She wants to fuck,” Bruno yelled from the kitchen.
That jerk! Her cheeks exploded red again.
Daniel looked stunned for a moment, then leaned back on the couch, hiding his mouth behind his hand.
Alice threw a pillow at Bruno when he walked into the room, holding beers.
“Hey, careful. These are our last ones.” He was grinning.
“So,” Daniel said, trying to keep a neutral expression. “your body temperature has increased, and you are feeling a higher-than-usual libido?”
“Yes,” she said sullenly.
Daniel took a sip of his beer. A smile appeared on his face briefly.
“So you could say—” He started half laughing.
“Daniel—” Alice warned.
“You could call it—”
“Daniel, don’t you dare.”
“You could say that—”
“Don’t you dare say it!”
“That you are going into heat?”
Both men laughed, trying not to spill their beers.
Alice hid her face behind a pillow. She was never so mortified in her life. “Jerks. Please stop with the stupid wolf analogies.” She threw the pillow at her husband.
“Hey, Daniel’s the one who made the joke.”
Daniel tried to control himself again. “I’m sure this is”—he took a sip from his beer— “a perfectly normal omega characteristic,” he finished with a smile.
“I hate you guys so much right now.”
The three of them held their laughter for as long as they could, but when one cracked, they all laughed like maniacs.
When Alice’s birthday came along, Bruno surprised her with a birthday party in one of their favorite restaurants. She was still reluctant to be in crowded spaces, but she was happy to find Bruno had booked a private room.
All her family and friends yelled “Surprise!” as soon as she walked in, but what really made her jump was the sudden blast of happiness and joy.
They ate delicious food; Alice overindulged in cake and wine. She opened wonderful presents, and was in high heaven when her husband gave her an envelope.
“What’s this?” Alice asked him.
“Open it and find out.” He laughed.
Inside the envelope was a printout of a conversation between Bruno and Kasumi’s husband, Ichiro, with plans for a visit to Japan.
“Japan? Really?” she asked, dumbfounded. “We are going to Japan?”
“Yes, meu amor. It’s the first of many places,” he told her. “I’m also in talks with Zoey’s mate, Michael, for us to visit the States next.”
“When?” She nearly jumped. “When can we go?”
“Either the end of October or early November. You know we have to settle things here before I can leave the country.”
“Of course. I’m so freaking happy! Is this for real?” Alice jumped into her husband’s arms and kissed him. “I’ve never been outside of Portugal.”
“I know.” Bruno hugged her back. “But we are doing this. We want all the omegas to meet, so I thought Japan would be a great place to start. We always wanted to go there.”
“Thank you!” Alice gave Bruno another passionate kiss, already planning on spending the whole night showing him just how much she loved him.
Bruno looked around the room and pulled her to a quiet corner, far from everyone else.
“And I was thinking…” he whispered. “If you would like to try again. When we return from Japan or from the States, we could try for a baby again.”
“I like that idea.” Alice had a different kind of smile on her face now. She felt the love, the warmth, coming from him. She was so happy right now that the skin above her heart radiated heat. The future held so much promise for them both.
“I know this has been hard for you,” Bruno said softly. “I know that you’ve been having a hard time since the conversion. But I want to make it up to you. I want to make you the happiest woman on this planet.”
“It’s alright. As long as I have you, I’m okay.”
It was true that she had been having second thoughts since the conversion. The attention from people everywhere she went; alphas sniffing after her; feeling other people’s joy and pain like her own—it had all been devastating for her. But Bruno made up for it all. They were in this together, and together they would win every battle that life threw at them. As long as she had Bruno, she would be happy. As long as she was with him, she would be okay.
They hugged and sat quietly in their corner while their friends got drunk.
7
Matts Follows the Trail
Matts
Matts huffed in frustration as the beta kept spouting his nonsense story.
“I’m not sure how this could have happened. I assure you, I submitted no such report,” the man pleaded. “I don’t even know how I would go about printing these files. I would have to go all the way to Central Office with a copy of the stock, and that is nearly impossible.”
“Nearly impossible is not impossible,” Matts pointed out. “I received this report directly from your supervisor. And now he insists he doesn’t know anything either.”
“My only conclusion is that someone must have played a prank on you,” the beta insisted.
“Well, I’m going to take a look around anyway.”
“I believe you need top-level authorization for that. Sir,” he quickly added.
Matts watched the man cower. A few months ago Matts was ready to kiss him for being so attentive, and for finding a way around the security restrictions to highlight the missing inventory in his section. But now… now he could kick his ass up and down the warehouse. He was acting like it was all a prank, but Matts knew better. There were mind games at play here.
He took out his phone and showed his security clearance to the beta. The man’s eyes popped open and his jaw dropped. Matts had the highest security level in the converted world; no one was above him except the High Court, and he took his orders directly from them.
Without a word, Matts made his way through the warehouse, leaving Henryk to deal with the man. It was a good test for his young protégé, to figure out what had happened to his memory.
With a copy of the inventory’s discrepancies in hand, Matts made his way to the computer closest to the most restricted items: medical machine parts for the Tube’s consoles. He logged in using special credentials, and checked the system to find who had been using the computer on the days the parts went missing. Then he checked the next computer, and another one after that. The same username popped up on every screen, on every missing inventory date.
Picking up his phone, Matts called a member of his team.
“Hey, Georgie, I need you to check a username and its clearance level for me. I also want to know where this person is right now.”
“Sure thing, boss!” Georgie’s cheery feminine voice, with a British accent, came from the other end of the call.
“Don’t call me boss,” he told her for the hundred time. He gave her the username, and waited a few moments while she researched.
“Matts? I’ve got the beta linked with that username, but…”
“But what?”
“He’s not supposed to have access to your warehouse. He’s up in warehouse B13, and he’s only supposed to be in B10 to B14. Not sure how he got into A01 at all.”
“Is he there now? B13?”
“Yes, he just logged onto a service computer and is checking out orders.”
Matts turned off the call and raced to Henryk. “We need to go to B13 right now.”
Leaving a confused beta behind, both men raced for the car.
“That man had his memory erased,” Henryk said.
“Yeah, just like his supervisor,” Matts confirmed.
Henryk drove them at breakneck speed to warehouse B13, but it still took them ten minutes to reach it. Matts hoped the thieving beta was still there, and unaware of what was coming. He checked his gun. This beta could just be a victim of someone else’s plot, but there was no point in being careless.
“When we get there, I’ll need you to check your gun as well.”
“Yes, sir,” Henryk replied, sounding uneasy.
His protégé had never fired a gun at someone before.
Henryk parked haphazardly next to the warehouse exit, and both men jumped out of the car. A big alpha rushed to them.
“Hey, you can’t park here!”
Matts waved his clearance to the man, who took a step back and gulped. Unlike the previous warehouse, this one had its door wide open, and there were people loading trucks. Matts showed the picture of the beta they were looking for to Henryk, and gun in hand, they went in.
He showed the picture to a young beta woman scanning barcodes on the outgoing items.
“Seen this man?”
“Peter? He’s down on aisle seven,” she told him before returning to her job.
Matts signaled for Henryk to take the long way around, while Matts approached the man casually.
Eyes glued to the computer, the beta didn’t notice either man approaching until Matts accidentally kicked a stray piece of metal on the floor. Looking up at Matts, the beta’s eyes widened, and the man sprinted away. Spotting Henryk at the end of the aisle, the beta pushed packages out of his way to cross to aisle six, trying to run for the exit.
“Close all doors!” Matts commanded. The betas at the entrance acted on his orders, and closed the door.
Trapped, the beta raced towards an emergency exit, but with a quick command from Henryk, it was blocked by the other workers.
“Peter!” Matts called. “Stop!”
Matts watched, dumbfounded, as the beta ignored his command and went up some metal stairs. Matts followed close behind, and Henryk went up identical stairs on the other side of the warehouse.
The stairs led to a series of walkways near the roof of the warehouse, but had no exit of their own other than the stairs Matts and Henryk had used.
Trapped between both alphas, the beta took out his phone and called someone.
Matts and Henryk both pointed the gun at him.
“Peter, put the cell down. On your knees, and hands behind your head.”
“I understand,” the man said. He turned off the phone and tossed it to the floor below, where it shattered into pieces.
“Peter! Kneel!” Matts put all his strength into the command, but still the beta ignored him.
This should be impossible. The man was only a beta, and shouldn’t be able to ignore any command, much less from someone as strong as him.
“No masters but ourselves,” the man sneered at Matts.
Peter looked down at the floor, and then at Matts and Henryk. And then, to everyone’s surprise, he jumped over the rail, landing on top of crates filled with metal rods. He was impaled by two of the rods. The alphas raced back downstairs, but when they reached the beta, he was already dead.
8
The World Flips Upside Down
Bruno
Bruno awoke to an urgent beeping of his phone. A message this early?
He got up quietly to retrieve the device from his nightstand, trying not to wake Alice, and glared at the screen. Six in the morning. It was still dark outside, and from the sound of the rain hitting the window, it was going to be a gloomy Sunday.
He looked at the message. Something had happened in France, and an emergency meeting was being called with the other countries. The presence of the chairmen and their secretaries was requested. He sighed and rubbed his face. What had the French First Chair done now?
He tried to get up slowly, but Alice stirred all the same. “Peeing again? That’s what you get for drinking so much beer,” she said, drowsy.
He cuddled up next to her, pulling her close to him by her waist. Her eyes were still closed, and she was only half awake. He brushed his hand along the curve of her waist and hips. She only had her top on, everything else discarded in their late-night lovemaking. Her warm back pressed against his chest, and filled him with want. He buried his face in her neck, breathing in deeply. He couldn’t get enough of her smell.
He got out of bed reluctantly, tucking Alice in, and opened the closet to get dressed.
“Where are you going?” She looked at him through half-closed lids, somnolence heavy on her eyes. The message said to bring the secretaries also, but Alice was not officially his secretary, and he didn’t want to drag her along this early.
“I have to go to the office. There’s an emergency. You stay and sleep.”
She pulled the blanket down to get out of bed. “I’ll come with you.”
Sitting next to her on the bed, he pulled the blanket back up to cover her. “No, you stay here and sleep some more. We had a late night yesterday.”
“What if you need me?”
“I’ll call you if I need you. I can pick you up for lunch, maybe go shopping after? I need a new travel bag for Japan.”
“Okay. I love you…” Alice drifted back to sleep.
He kissed her forehead gently, careful not to wake her up again, and finished getting dressed. Before he left, he couldn’t resist giving her one more kiss, to which she gave a sleepy grunt.
